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Ellen! Long time no see! BEST place to grab a (relatively) cheap drink and free pizza after work is Venice Cafe on Wacker and Jackon. Nikki is the best barterner, Bill is just nice to look at. :) Lisa and Laura and some of the best servers around. Very popular after work joint (hello...free pizza!) especially on Friday's.

As far as a Loop lunch, we mostly order in because we're so busy at work. By FAR, our favorite place to order from is Pat's Pizza on Clark St. Some of the best thin crust pizza I've had. I recommend getting extra sauce...but that's just me. :)

Okay I know I am going to get a million emails on this one but seriously guys the Popeyes Chicken on Wabash between Lake and Randolh is a real hidden gem. I don't know if they use special grease to fry there dirty cajun birds but they have some of the best fried chicky I have ever tasted. I recomend the mild variety with a side of red beans and rice and a buttermilk biscuit. Heaven my darlings! You can even request a packet of honey to put on your biscuit or anything else you can think of (naughty, naughty) there are some hotties behind the counter oiled up and everything. Dig in!

huge confession time...I have a soft spot for the Exchequer on Wabash between Adams and Jackson. It's a classic bar with a restaurant. There is nothing glam, trendy or healthy about that place, but boy, if you want a grilled cheese, fish & chips or just some sort of grease, it's the place to get your fixin's.

And we just discovered Pat's Pizza too. Where have you been all of my life? So good!

I love Singha -- this thai place on Kinzie and Clark -- so much that I order delivery now that our office has moved far away. Truth be told, I just really love thai food.

Best place for an after-work drink would be Billy Goat on lower Michigan or J. Randolph's Bar and Grill at Randolph and Michigan. J. Randolph was the first bar my husband and I passed after he proposed to me, so we went there for a celebratory drink, so maybe the explains my partiality.

I second the comments on Cosi and Cafe Bacci, both great for soup & salad.
I am also a fan of the salad bar at MacKellys on Adams & Wabash, which has a great selection of fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses.

I went there on... ok a *weekend*, but, anyway, the owner was there, and he was pointing out his 2 year old daughter Hannah to us. I thought he was just some crazy guy, and didn't realize he owned the place. ha ha ha

Italian Village. They had a butternut squash raviolli on the lunch menu that was simply the best meatless pasta I've ever had. The bar is first class as well. Maybe the clientle is a little stiff but substance trumps style any day.

I second Hanna's Brezel -- their pretzel's are surprisingly fresh and you can even get them heated up and with butter (a classic!). But does anyone know the name of that mysterious and very good little Indian place on Lake? It is in the basement and there is only a very small sign inside the glass doors on street level. But they make their naan fresh and they have a selection of 6 or 7 dishes a day (it is cafeteria-style, like Zaiqa) that they serve on china plates of assorted patterns. It is inexpensive and delicious.

Another vote for Heaven on Seven. Hot & spicy cajun food helps me get over the mid-day slump. What, you haven't been yet? SHish, don't tell anyone, just go soon. (Anyone notice their crawfish wandering around Millenium Park last year??? Security chased them off - wish I had seen that!)

My other favorite is To Pho Cafe - fresh, healthy Vietnamese right on Wabash. It's also great to stop by for to-go food before the symphony in the park.

i don't work in the loop anymore but i used to hit ceres in the board of trade for the strongest drinks with to-go cup potential quite often, plus they boast the nicest waitress - the gal with the red hair.

the place i'm thinking of was in the basement of a building that houses some club on the 1st floor. it used to (i don't know if it ever opened) be superbar or something, now it's got a blue logo & it's called wet. i haven't even noticed the sign for the indian place in awhile, but it was just west of monk's pub.....

Hey C-Note, how in hell is Racine and Jackson "in the loop"?! Get a map. Cheers to Cal's, Sky Ride Tap, Miller's Pub, Monk's, and Billy Goat under Mich Ave (not technically in the Loop but a short toss.) Gone (but not forgotten) -- the bar under the escalators in the old Greyhound terminal at Clark & Randolph, Rossi's (on State btw Kinzie & Hubbard), and the Billy Goat on Washington just west of Franklin.

When I used to work in the loop, I liked to escape for lunch at Bin 36. Their lunch prices aren't too pricey, and they give you a free bottle of water, cup of coffee and cookie on your way out. It's a nice treat. Now that my office is at Columbus and Wacker, I don't really have a favorite. My coworkers and I usually have to fight the conventioners for something in the dreary pedway.

No mention yet of the pub - bar -lounge whatsit in Union Station, so I must. I take occational trips to see friends in Milwaukee by train and I usually try to get to the station an hour or so early to hang out at the bar. I have never had anything but friendly service there. A decent place to strike up a conversation with travelers. You've got to sit at the bar though to expierence it. If your at a table, you're an island.

Staci,
I work by Columbus and Wacker too, 233 N. Michigan, and if you need a quiet getaway, the Urban Kitchen underneath the Hyatt is pretty decent for a sit down place, and not usually crowded.
Otherwise, I also like Sopprafina's and India House on Grand and Dearborn for their lunch buffet, even though it's not technically in the Loop.

Luke's Pizza is a cheap, somewhat respectable lunch counter near the Sears Tower. I don't have serious problems with Cosi, at least at lunchtime - their lentil soup is fantastic. Burrito Beach and Taco Fresco are acceptable means to an end, but I always feel absurd eating there, considering that I live in Pilsen.

For a drink, I'll usually go with Miller's, if I'm STUCK in the Loop. On one occasion, my erstwhile romantic interest and I were both in such foul moods, we decided we wouldn't make it to the Hungry Brain before a fight broke out. Short story: We went to the bar at the Congress Hotel. Crossed the picket line and everything. Not one of my shinier moments.

mmm, Heaven on Seven is very good (though it's in the Garland Building, not Garfield), and in that same area we also enjoy the Pittsfield Cafe, with it's "outdoor" seating in the building lobby. Turkey club sandwiches and really good fountain pop and fries. The other good place around there is the Oasis in the back of one of the jewelry malls.

Ooh ooh, I second the Palmer House, but my poison is the Thursday $5 (up from $4 just a few weeks ago) Mai Tai. Is it Thursday yet?

For food in the Loop proper, I like Ada's on Wabash and about Adams? I think. Good grilled cheese and fries, quick and friendly service. I was shocked to learn a close friend of mine hated it. How can you beat a bucket of pickles on yr table? She must have something against buckets of pickles.

Thanks for all the tips! I just started working in the Loop a little while ago, and I don't know any places at all. Eating out at the Corner Bakery has already lost its charm, and I've only been there once. I'll have to check out everything you all have mentioned.

"That Indian Place" by Monk's Pub is called La Rosh (Sp?) aka La Roach. They use way too much sty-ro-foam but the food is real tasty and a good deal. There's a prayer room in the front and plenty of Bollywood on the teevee too. On the southside of Lake west of Wabash in the basement!